Emory Andrew Tate III is one of the most well known men on the internet—except he’s recently been banned from most social media sites. The former kickboxer used platforms such as Instagram and TikTok to spread violent misogyny and homophobia, which has infected countless young minds. Although banned from many sites, his messages are still spread through reposts of his videos and his two podcasts—and by his followers.

His actions raised two very important questions: how do high school students really feel about him, and should social media platforms be able to restrict content they think is harmful? These are the questions we asked students around the school. This is what they had to say:

“I think that he has a lot of really problematic opinions that are being spread throughout the internet and teaching younger kids that misogyny is okay and that he’s a good person when he’s not. I think that there is a fine line between, like, continuing to have freedom of speech through those platforms and also monitoring it so that it’s not dangerous and I think that there should be some sort of monitoring system so that when they cross that line—whatever it is—they can monitor and restrict it.” – Anonymous

“I don’t know very much about Andrew Tate. I feel like they should be able to restrict some content that they think is bad and harmful, but not […] opinions.” – Alex Coker ‘23

“He’s f***ing hilarious. The stuff he says is out of pocket, but you know, some of the stuff is true, some of the stuff about women, not true, but y’know. F*** no. Freedom of speech, baby, the more people that we ban off of social media, the more it’ll be the same over and over again, and there’s not gonna be any opinions.” – Anonymous

“I think he’s a misogynist, but he also has some valid points on hard work. I think he explains really well that you can’t have everything you want if you don’t put in the work, but I don’t like his misogynistic takes. Absolutely not, I think that is one of the things that takes away free speech, and that is like the whole idea of the United States as one of our main constitutional rights.” – Landen Martinez ‘23

“I think he’s a bad person. A lot of sites already do that. It’s their choice and it’s your choice to use it. So if you don’t like it then don’t use it.”- Anonymous

“Personally, I don’t really take too much from it… I just kind of see it as a figure where it’s like—very few people represent what he says as fact. I think a lot of it is more so entertainment since there’s not a ton of male figures that speak like that. I think he got the giant presence because he’s one of the few. Do I agree with everything he says? No. But do I find it funny because it’s so out there and outlandish? Yes.” // “I think the whole idea of it is so that no matter what it is, you still have the freedom to say what you need, so I don’t think they should be able to restrict what people say. I think people have the ability to say what they want to that person or, like, disregard what they say but I think no matter what they should be able to spread their opinion.” – Anonymous

“Thumbs down. Yes.” – Anonymous

“He’s alright. I don’t think he’s sending a great message, but I like the idea of confidence. He’s a real interesting person. I think his influence is too wide, but I think he’s not entirely bad and very not entirely good. He’s kind of in the middle. I think free speech should not be limited, but I think there’s places that should be; like Twitter, but there are websites that should be free speech.” – Franklin Rambo ‘23

“I think that he has a lot of very bad messages. I think a lot of his stuff concerning women is very concerning. I think a lot of his mindset stuff is actually decent though, like how to kind of just think of yourself as a person that’s gonna be successful. But when it comes to takes between people, I don’t think there’s very much to be put in there. I feel like there’s levels to that. Like, there’s personal speech, which is like the case of Andrew Tate… if you say “well you can’t ban that!” then now you’re opening the gates to a lot of other stuff– terrorist organizations that use these platforms as recruitment basis. I think that there has to be a set line. I feel like we’re leaving this up to interpretation, and at that point that’s when it becomes an issue of topic and debate.” – AJ Rivera ‘23

“Screw Andrew Tate.” – Anonymous

As attacks on women seem to increase in scale and magnitude, from the overturning of Roe v. Wade to ongoing femicide all over the world, it is important to consider the content we intake. If we listen to podcasts, watch videos, or read tweets that are harmful, how long is it until we begin to think like them? Misogyny and hatred invaded social media on a whole new level when Andrew Tate gained popularity. However, it seems Academy students can agree that he is, for the most part, wrong. Some people recognize his ability to spread messages of confidence. We have to wonder if that message is possible to spread without the misogynistic drawbacks. If you have any other thoughts, write them in the comments. We invite courteous discussion and debate.